The Potential of Whale Watching in the Caribbean: 1999+

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AUTHOR'S NOTE 'Whale watching', in this report, refers to tours by sea or land, formal or informal, with some commercial aspect, to see any of the some 81 species of whales, dolphins and porpoises collectively known as cetaceans. As well as tours that are strictly whale or dolphin oriented, we also include general marine nature tours and cruises which feature or include whales and dolphins as part of the trip. This definition is essentially the same as that widely used in various workshops and reports (e.g., Hoyt 1995, Hoyt 1996b; IFAW, Tethys & Europe Conservation 1995; IFAW 1999). For the purposes of this report, the Caribbean refers exclusively to the island nations and territories in the wider or Greater Caribbean, from the Bahamas in the North to Trinidad and Tobago in the south. Many people have provided detailed information, spoken and written, on the various countries and island territories. Some of the information, inevitably, is conflicting. I have tried to be fair and balanced and to sort out inconsistencies. In any case, the final assessments are my own, and I am responsible for them. A word about species identifications: in the Caribbean, dolphins are typically referred to as 'porpoise' while 'dolphin' can refer to the dolphin fish. In fact, there are no true porpoises found in the Caribbean. Also, there are many local names for other small cetaceans which vary from island to island, some of which lump various species together, others of which distinguish by species. There is no doubt that the confusion in terminology and identification results in many lost sightings or misidentifications, as well as the difficulties in assessing the extent of dolphin hunting particularly in the southeastern Caribbean. In this report, if the species identification was reasonably certain I have used it; otherwise I have simply used 'tropical dolphin' or 'blackfish' in an attempt to be as specific as warranted by the evidence. Common names are those followed by Leatherwood and Reeves in the Sierra Club Handbook of Whales and Dolphins and Jefferson et al in Marine Mammals of the World. I have followed the same procedures as in earlier reports to determine the direct, indirect, and total revenues, and the exchange rates used. Exchange rates, if necessary, are made from local curencies to the US dollar at rates prevailing on April 15, 1999. Conversion to £ sterling (UK) is made at $1.62 = £1.00. Direct revenues are the cost of the tours (ticket price); indirect revenues include food, accommodation, travel, film, souvenirs and other expenses incurred in the course of whale watching. Total revenues are direct + indirect revenues. In general, the total revenues from whale watching near urban centres are approximately 3.5x the direct revenues. In remote centres which entail considerable travel, total revenues are usually at least 7.67x the direct revenues. Estimated total revenues for dedicated whale watching, based on these multiples, are given for areas where detailed figures are unavailable (see Hoyt 1995, p. 5 for further explanation and references). However, no multiples are used for incidental or spontaneous whale watching, where the decision to go whale watching is made at the departure site (equivalent to impulse buying), thus incurring no additional revenues beyond the actual ticket price, plus purchases on board and immediately after the trip. This report is aimed at a wide audience including tourism departments, marine operators of every description (dive, yacht, etc.), fisheries and environment ministries, local and international NGOs (non-governmental organisations) concerned with whale watching and ecotourism. Because of this wide audience, a decision was made not to reference every point in the text as in a scientific paper. However, each country section is followed by a list of acknowledgments; many are personal communications except those noted with dates which are publications listed in the back under references. In addition to the acknowledgments listed under individual countries, I would like to thank Sue Fisher, Kate O'Connell, and Cathy Williamson for reading and commenting on the entire text. — Erich Hoyt 6
INTRODUCTION Slightly larger in area than the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, at 970,000 sq mi (2,515,900 sq km) is the second largest of the world's major seas (after the South China Sea), but it is by far the deepest, with an average depth of 8,450 feet (2,575 meters). The Greater Caribbean boasts the deepest point in the Atlantic Ocean, the Puerto Rico Trench, at 28,374 feet (8,648 meters) deep. It also contains numerous underwater banks, coral reefs, mangroves, sea grass beds, and other diverse marine features which provide habitat at least part of the year for some 30 species of whales and dolphins. With the extraordinary diversity and number of islands, islets and cays stretching from northern South America to offshore Florida, there is a considerable diversity of potential whale/ dolphin watch opportunities. Whale watching began in the wider Caribbean in the early 1980s. Of course, pleasure boaters, sailors and cruise ship passengers have always enjoyed the company of bow-riding dolphins and passing whales around the Caribbean. However, it was the discovery of a friendly and accessible group of spotted dolphins north of Grand Bahama Island in the 1970s that eventually led to the commercialisation of whale watching. At first, whale and dolphin researchers and film crews from around the world began to make special pilgrimages there. Following this, a solid research programme began alongside expanding tourist ventures to watch and swim with the dolphins on 7- to 10-day tours. About the same time, in waters a little farther south, New England humpback whale researchers, using photo-identification of humpback tails to identify the whales, began to realize that most of the North Atlantic humpbacks were spending their winters between the Bahamas-Turks & Caicos and the Dominican Republic. These are the mating and calving grounds of Silver, Navidad and Mouchoir banks. In 1986, as humpback whale watching was just starting up in the Dominican Republic, then president Joaquin Balaguer was persuaded to make a far sighted move: to protect the entire Silver Bank as a marine protected area for humpback whales: The Silver Bank Humpback Whale Marine Sanctuary. The 'brand name' recognition that resulted from this effectively kick-started whale watching in the Dominican Republic. The country became known as the place where humpbacks mate, calve and raise their young. By the early 1990s, the Dominican Republic was attracting more than 15,000 whale watch visitors a year and had become the most popular spot in the Caribbean for whale watching. It still is, although the visitor numbers appear to have levelled off in recent years at about 20,000 per year. In the late 1980s, a third wave of whale watch tourism began in the eastern Caribbean. The little country of Dominica led the way with trips to see resident sperm whales and an exciting array of smaller whales and dolphins, some of them rarely seen by whale watchers anywhere in the world. Since then, whale watching has spread to many of the other islands in the eastern Caribbean and whale watching in each place offers its own character and selling points. Whale watching is eagerly embraced by many island economies around the world that are dependent on tourism because it offers a powerful attraction, additional activity and reason for visitors to come and stay extra days. Islands such as Maui, in the Hawaiian Islands, and Tenerife in the Canary Islands have experienced several hundred thousand visitors a year going whale watching (10-20 times the numbers of the entire Caribbean). Even if whale or dolphin sightings cannot be promised, the chance of seeing them adds value to any marine nature cruise or excursion. This value is not limited to tourism revenues. Whales and dolphins help confer a powerful, attractive identity on many communities and offer an experience that visiting tourists remember, tell their friends about, and return to enjoy themselves. Whales and dolphins also introduce people to the marine environment and help teach stewardship of marine resources. Living on a shrinking planet with a shared ocean, we can all stand to be reminded of this important lesson. Community-based whale watching features at various locations around the Caribbean: 7
Page 1 and 2: The Potential of Whale Watching in
Page 3 and 4: CONTENTS Executive Summary 4 Author
Page 5: • Caribbean whale watch operation
Page 9 and 10: Table 1. Checklist for starting, ex
Page 11 and 12: swim-with-dolphin excursions into B
Page 13 and 14: worthy plan for this area, or one t
Page 15 and 16: Bahamian Dolphin Guidelines These g
Page 17 and 18: longest coastline in the Caribbean.
Page 19 and 20: magnet for tourists and is a good a
Page 21 and 22: Acknowledgments: Baker 1998, Dean B
Page 23 and 24: the high value that dedicated whale
Page 25 and 26: the communication and general knowl
Page 27 and 28: Protección de los Mamíferos Marin
Page 29 and 30: 2.1 The capture, hurting, killing,
Page 31 and 32: 6. Jamaica Population: 2,553,400. L
Page 33 and 34: (Figures above are latest figures f
Page 35 and 36: Desecheo), located in the Mona Pass
Page 37 and 38: 9. US Virgin Islands (USA), includi
Page 39 and 40: system allows him to hear and recor
Page 41 and 42: water below it. The coat of arms is
Page 43 and 44: Aruba Population: 89,000. Land area
Page 45 and 46: February through April, and occasio
Page 47 and 48: 15. Antigua and Barbuda (UK) Popula
Page 49 and 50: Guadeloupe, a French overseas depar
Page 51 and 52: 4) Ne pas passer plus de 30 minutes
Page 53 and 54: 1998, Jonathan Gordon and his colle
Page 55 and 56: 2. That it should be in the interes
Page 57 and 58:
The following guidelines for whale
Page 59 and 60:
February to April when the waters t
Page 61 and 62:
tourism are distributed more evenly
Page 63 and 64:
avoid any negative impacts on the p
Page 65 and 66:
20. St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Page 67 and 68:
However, taking mothers and calves
Page 69 and 70:
22. Barbados Population: 265,350. L
Page 71 and 72:
frequency of Bryde's whale sighting
Page 73 and 74:
Caribbean, as in most other parts o
Page 75 and 76:
IFAW. 1996b. Cetacean Field Researc
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The Potential of Whale Watching in the Caribbean: 1999+

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